NB Chinook IPA

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bobot

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Just tasted my Northern Brewer Chinook IPA. Wow, that's bitter beer! :rockin:
Now I know what chinook hops do!!
:mug:
 
How did it turn out though? Expecting mine to be delivered tomorrow and will be brewing This week. Curious of what others think of this kit as it will be my first IPA and second batch ever.
 
It turned out fine, I'm not disappointed. One of the things I'm learning as a new brewer is what to expect from different hops. That's one of the things I liked about this kit- just chinook hops, so I can get a feel for them.
The one I tried was still green, but curiosity got the better of me. I had it bottled for 2 weeks at 70f, then 2 days in the fridge.
The rest of them will hang out in my basement for another few weeks before I try another.
There was no floral or fruity aroma in the one I tried, more of a peppery bitterness. Compared to the Mr. Beers I started with, and the 5 gal. kits I've done since, this one was bigger and badder for sure.
I wonder what a few more weeks of conditioning will bring.
Good luck with yours!
:mug:
 
I received my kit on Monday and there was a hole in the DME bag and I ended up loosing about a quarter of the bag. NB was quick to send me a replacement that will be here tonight so i will be brewing this weekend. I was thinking of adding an additional 1/2 lb of DME to the boil so it will not go to wast and try to kick up the ABV slightly. Has anyone tried this? Will it change the flavor much? I'm new the the whole thing and would hate to mess it but I have read people add sugar and LME with no ill effects. Thanks for any and all comments.
 
kepo said:
I received my kit on Monday and there was a hole in the DME bag and I ended up loosing about a quarter of the bag. NB was quick to send me a replacement that will be here tonight so i will be brewing this weekend. I was thinking of adding an additional 1/2 lb of DME to the boil so it will not go to wast and try to kick up the ABV slightly. Has anyone tried this? Will it change the flavor much? I'm new the the whole thing and would hate to mess it but I have read people add sugar and LME with no ill effects. Thanks for any and all comments.

Bump!!! Anyone try this? I am brewing tomorrow and was wondering others thoughts. Thanks
 
An extra half pound won't do a ton in a typical 5 gallon batch. No reason not to throw it in.
 
I'm 1 week into my dry hop (brewed it on 23 Dec). I will more than likely bottle tomorrow and will have to wait untill the end of Jan when I get back from business trip to tast. I heard many great reviews from this kit that I had to try it. Waiting is the hardest part.
 
Joe530 said:
I'm 1 week into my dry hop (brewed it on 23 Dec). I will more than likely bottle tomorrow and will have to wait untill the end of Jan when I get back from business trip to tast. I heard many great reviews from this kit that I had to try it. Waiting is the hardest part.

How long did you primary? secondary? before you did the dry hop? I would love to hear your thoughts once you taste it since you will be drinking way before me. I am looking forward to this cuz I do like Chinook:)
 
I have this one sitting in secondary with dry hops... Probably bottle tomorrow. Can't wait as this is beer no.2 for me and first IPA... Looking forward to the one hop style.
 
How long did you primary? secondary? before you did the dry hop? I would love to hear your thoughts once you taste it since you will be drinking way before me. I am looking forward to this cuz I do like Chinook:)

I had it 3 weeks primary and I was going to transfer to secondary to dry hop when I put a hole in the glass carboy when cleaning it! So I just added the hops to the primary and let it do its thing for one week. Yesterday I was going to get ready to bottle when I noticed it was still bubbling in the airlock! So, now I will have to put it off till it stops. I know adding hops might cause that, but i thought it would be done after a day or two.
 
I had it 3 weeks primary and I was going to transfer to secondary to dry hop when I put a hole in the glass carboy when cleaning it! So I just added the hops to the primary and let it do its thing for one week. Yesterday I was going to get ready to bottle when I noticed it was still bubbling in the airlock! So, now I will have to put it off till it stops. I know adding hops might cause that, but i thought it would be done after a day or two.

You probably want to check your gravity and then again a few days later... I've been told its the only way to know if its done.
 
Don t worry too much about the bubbling, I had some batches bubbling for weeks and another stopped bubbling after 4 days. If your gravity is close to FG and does not change for a few days, you re good to go. Be careful regarding the duration of dry hopping as well, you might get some off flavours if you leave the hops for too long (it seems 5-7 days is a good duration).
 
Well I brewed yesterday and now it is bubbling away Happy Happy Happy! I did add 2 extra cups ( not sure the weight since I don't have a scale) DME & 1 cup of sugar ( about 7.5 oz). Because of the extra additions I waited until there were 5 min left in the boil to add the last half of LME to help offset some of the hop utilization since i can only do a partial boil. OG was 1.62 and now I have to wait and see how it goes.
 
Update:
This has been bottled for just over a month, and this is great beer! I will definitely be brewing this one again. Patience really pays off, I'm glad I was able to exercise some with this batch! Good luck, and Patience to you's who are brewing this one. Ferment it long, condition it long, refrigerate it long!
:rockin:
 
Hi Apatride,

Would you mind saying more about dry hopping? I added my Chinook IPA to the second fermenter almost a week ago, and am planning on adding my dry hops tomorrow, after exactly one week. Then I was going to let it sit another 2 1/2 weeks before bottling.

Thanks!

Don t worry too much about the bubbling, I had some batches bubbling for weeks and another stopped bubbling after 4 days. If your gravity is close to FG and does not change for a few days, you re good to go. Be careful regarding the duration of dry hopping as well, you might get some off flavours if you leave the hops for too long (it seems 5-7 days is a good duration).
 
I hit 1.062 but I added some extra DME and 1 cup of sugar. I took a gravity reading this weekend and I am at 1.016 at the moment. Needless to say I tasted the sample and I am pleased with the way it turned out so far. I will add the dry hops this weekend for about 5 days.
 
This is a good beer! I am happy with the way it turned out. I just cracked my first one of the batch today and am drinking a second now. I put them in the fridge yesterday morning before work so the they would be cold for tonight's 2 @ 2 week taste test. Each one was properly carbonated and with a nice color. I think adding the extra DME in the beginning and then adding the LME at the end of the boil helped keep the color light compared to some of the reviews I read. Although it didn't turn out to be the clearest beer it doesn't effect the taste. This was a great way to start off B #2!

I would like to know how y'all's turned out?
 
Just started a 2.5 gallon batch of this recipe yesterday morning. Looking forward to seeing how it turns out!
 
This was the first recipe I ever brewed, and the one that got me hooked on this hobby.
 
What's the AA% on the hops they send you? I'm looking at the recipe but it doesn't say.

Also, this doesn't seem like a lot of hops at all. I mean 0.5 oz @ 10 min and 0.5 oz @ 1 min isn't exactly going to make it explode with hop flavor and aroma.

Has anyone experimented with increasing the hop additions?
 
What's the AA% on the hops they send you? I'm looking at the recipe but it doesn't say.

Also, this doesn't seem like a lot of hops at all. I mean 0.5 oz @ 10 min and 0.5 oz @ 1 min isn't exactly going to make it explode with hop flavor and aroma.

Has anyone experimented with increasing the hop additions?

I used Chinook hops I had from Hopunion - their website lists it as 12.0 - 14.0%.

I bought the ingredients for a whole batch and halved 'em so I'm looking forward to making another batch to experiment on at some point.
 
I have made this kits twice and liked it both times. what I did the 2nd time though was I moved the later hop additions to about 5 min earlier than NB hop schedule suggests. I found that with the first batch it didn't have enough front end bitterness to balance out with the backend. that is why I shifted. I thought the 2nd batch was way better than the first. of course this is all my opinion and my taste buds...either way enjoy!:drunk:
 
Just dry hopped my half batch in the ol' Beer Machine last night. Smells yummy. Hopefully I'll rack and bottle this weekend. Can't wait to try it!
 
It was a really good beer for me, but it was a tad bit too harshly bitter for me. Even for my wife that absolutely loves bitter beers thought it was a bit much.
 
It was a really good beer for me, but it was a tad bit too harshly bitter for me. Even for my wife that absolutely loves bitter beers thought it was a bit much.

I only used Chinook as a bittering hop once for this reason. I prefer it more for flavor and aroma. Magnum and warrior are much smoother at the same IBU for bittering.
 
Interesting reading these comments. I brewed the AG version of NB Chinook IPA recently. Hit all my numbers and had no problems with the batch - but am disappointed in the taste. Its not even close to being hoppy/bitter enough for my tastes. With the low SG, I was hoping for a nice session IPA.
 
Interesting reading these comments. I brewed the AG version of NB Chinook IPA recently. Hit all my numbers and had no problems with the batch - but am disappointed in the taste. Its not even close to being hoppy/bitter enough for my tastes. With the low SG, I was hoping for a nice session IPA.

What water profile did you use? That would be the only thing that would keep this beer from being very hoppy/bitter.
 
Cracked my first one over the weekend. Whew! That is one bitter beer. Took a couple sips to get used to its resinous qualities as as I usually go for the fruitier IPAs. I think this beer's gonna be a winner though. It had only been two weeks in the bottle so I think a little longer conditioning plus more fridge time is going to make this a great beer.
 
After bottling/Kegging did the chinook ipa taste and quality improve with time? Or was it so good you drank it all straight away?
 
After bottling/Kegging did the chinook ipa taste and quality improve with time? Or was it so good you drank it all straight away?
I've got about 4 bottles left out of my 5 gal batch. They did get better after two weeks or so , but after that it started to mellow a bit. I'd suggest tasting one every few days after a week in bottles. Once it gets to where you like it, throw em all in the fridge. I'll probably be brewing that kit again real soon.
 
Glad to hear everyone like this beer. I added the hops to my secondary yesterday and will bottle it up in about 6 days. This is my very first batch and I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
 
Devil sounds like we brewed on the same day. I’m dry hopping on Saturday and will keg the week after. Did you move yours to secondary or leave it in primary?
 
I did transfer it into a secondary, leaving some trub behind. Being a newbie, I wasn't sure whether I should put the hops in muslin or just toss them in the carboy. Reading what others have done, I just tossed them in and will use the muslin on the end of the siphon to make sure I don't end up with hop flakes in my bottling bucket. Good luck, PBF !!
 
I did this kit(my first brew) and it's conditioning in bottles right now. Will be a week in bottles this weekend, I may taste one. I sampled it while bottling and although warm and not carbonated it tasted pretty good I thought. At least I know I didn't totally screw it up but can't wait to try the finished product.
 
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